<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Neuschnee by PKA</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29049207">Neuschnee</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PKA/pseuds/PKA'>PKA</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Neu Series [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, No regrets but lots of guilt, Titan Erwin Smith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:35:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>957</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29049207</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PKA/pseuds/PKA</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi and Erwin reach the sea.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Levi/Erwin Smith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Neu Series [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1398637</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Neuschnee</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sea was not the sparkling blue Levi had imagined. They arrived just after snow had started to mix with the rain, tiny flakes adding freezing coldness to their already drenched coats. Erwin had pushed on like a man possessed—as if he had 13 days left instead of years. His new power made him more restless—and reckless—than ever. No matter the repercussions, after he had heard that Hange's Executioner from Hell had stilled, he couldn't wait for the first official expedition scheduled for spring. </p><p>It took no convincing. They had sneaked out in the middle of the night. Packed their bags, saddled the horses and rode hard for the newly reclaimed Wall Maria. They stopped in the eastern district in the early hours to change for fresh horses. The green recruits stationed in the ghostly town to watch over a new titan guillotine were almost shitting their pants upon their arrival. Neither of them dared question the captain’s glares and the commander’s brisk comment about a top-secret operation to reach what the scouts had called the endless blue.</p><p>It wasn't blue now. The shore, the sea, the skies—all of it was grey, making it hard to see where one ended and the other began. The wind howled in Levi's ear. Unknown birds shrieked and sailed overhead, sometimes dipping close to the water in search of edibles. The water itself was as quiet as the pair of men staring at it.</p><p>In a way, this was what Levi had imagined the first time he had set foot outside the walls. His eyes searched for an end to the grey, but he could see for miles over the still waters. There was nothing to be found on the other side but freedom.</p><p><i>Treacherous thought</i>, he reminded himself. The freedom they had envisioned didn't exist, never had. Enemies waited somewhere on the other side. Enemies that were a bigger pain in the ass than mindless titans could ever be.</p><p>They had encountered only a few, behind the walls. The further away they went, the more crippled they became, dragging their half-developed bodies through the mud in their singular quest to reach civilization. The few aggressive ones must have been freshly delivered to the island. Erwin took care of most of them, unafraid of losing any more limbs now.</p><p>“You asked me what I wanted to do after this was over.”</p><p>Levi looked at him. Erwin’s stoic expression faced seawards. His coat quivered in the wind like a hero's, the wings on his back eager to take off.</p><p>When Levi didn't respond, Erwin turned toward him, his eyes the only blue in existence. “What do you think I should do?”</p><p>Levi looked back to the ocean. He could taste the salt on his skin.</p><p>He had believed, hesitantly, in an after, before. It had always been a murky picture in his head, the thought of rubbing it into clear view too naive, too risky. Now that the secrets of the world were laid bare, he knew they'd never be awarded with it. Better to have forced himself not to imagine countless possibilities, some of them entailing happiness.</p><p>"Marry. Have some brats," he answered.</p><p>Erwin chuckled. Levi committed the sound to memory once more. It was dangerous how much in awe he was again, after losing him once. It led him to forget what cruel thing he had done to him, pulling him back into this life.</p><p>"What about you?" Erwin asked. "And don't tell me about that tea shop again."</p><p>Levi dismounted his horse, led her down to the shore, Erwin following behind. The snow fell thicker now. The mare nickered while he held her reins with his freezing hand—the water an unfamiliar sight for her as well.</p><p>He didn't go all the way to the water, but he came close enough to dip his hand into the tiny rocks on its edge. They were soft to the touch—thousands of light grey pebbles trickled through his fingers, like time.</p><p>Levi started to feel his joints, kneeling in the cold like this. Again his gaze was lost on the horizon. He was no stranger to fighting humans, but even he got older. Had he any choice in the matter, he would go back in time, to the easier days sharing idealistic views round the campfire, hope still outweighing despair in his comrades’ eyes. More than anything, he wanted their sacrifices to mean something.</p><p>"I will do what you ask me to do."</p><p>Erwin stepped further, crossed the fine rock until he reached the edge of the sea. It came to meet him in gentle waves, playing around his feet as if to invite him to come closer, see what other secrets it entailed.</p><p>"I might be selfish in what I ask of you."</p><p>"Doesn't matter." Levi would do whatever he asked. He'd cross the sea to kill all of their enemies if it gave him peace. He'd toss himself into the waves to try to atone.</p><p>"Stay with me," Erwin said, quietly.</p><p>Levi righted himself, stepped over to him. The small rocks crunched under the weight of his shoes.</p><p>He waited until Erwin looked at him. He was reminded, at this moment, of him at the beginning, the sun encompassing his face after Levi had lost his old life in the rain. Erwin Smith—the embodiment of purpose. The scar he had left on Erwin’s palm that day had vanished with his transformation, but his determination was still there, unshaken by what they had discovered in the basement.</p><p>He caught Erwin’s gaze as he did during his last promise, kneeling before him in their most desperate hour. He did not intend to break this one.</p><p>"Always."</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>